Soldering-iron



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B.. J. BAKER.

' Soldering Iron.

No.' 243,097; Patented June 21,1881.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.,

ROBERT J. BAKER, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

SOLDERING-IRON.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 243,097, dated June 21,1881.

Application filed March 30, 1881.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT J. BAKER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Baltimore city, in the State of Maryland, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Solderingflrons; and I do herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled iu the art to which itappertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the letters or figures of reference markedthereon, which form a part ot' this specification.

Myimprovement relates more particularly to what is known as thehatchetsoldering-iron, consisting of a solid piece of copper beveled orwedge-shaped to form an edge, and which is forged from a solid bar ofcopper and requires frequent reforging to renew the working-edge. By myimprovement the. workingedge is formed from a plate of proper thicknesssecured so as to be fed to present a working-edge, so that no reforgin gis required, thel plate being easily removed when used up. In suchconstruction I preserve the required Weight ofthe tool by the clampingparts or holder, so that there is, in fact, no repair or reforging"necessary in using the tool, as the edge ot' the plate will maintain itsproper form until worn down to a mere strip. In the adjustment of theplate out upon its seat as it wears a new .one may be secured behind itin the holder, and serve, by means of a beveled lap -joining, to preventthe clamping action from buckling the plate when much reduced in size bywear. j By this means I use a renewable plate as a soldering-edge, ascontradistinguished from a 'solid body 'iorged to a working-edge,renewable only by reforging.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents the solidhatchet solderin g-iron now in general use. Fig. 2 represents myimproved iron in perspective; Fig. 3, a similar View of the clam pingplate-holder 5 Fig. 4, a cross-section on the line ww of Fig. 2; Fig. 5,a section on the line y y of Fig. 2, showing a plate about half worn orused up and a new plate secured in place and joining the worn plate witha lap-joint to prevent it from buckling under the clamping action of theholder 5 and Fig. 6, the soldering-plate proper.

(No model In Fig. l I have shown the style of tool to which myimprovement specially relates, and which is forged from a solid piece ofcopper of the required weight to produce the Working-edge. A plate, a,of the proper size and shape, is cut from a sheet of copper, andconstitutes the soldering-iron proper ot' the tool, its working-edgebeingformed of the thickness ot' the plate. These plates are sheared inquantities from sheets or plates of copper of the required thickness,and they are supplied to the trade for use with the clamping-holder.They may, however, be cut from waste pieces or from rolled strips.

The holder is in two parts, b and c, to form an adjustable clamp forthesoldering-plate. In the construction shown these clamping parts areformed with seats d for the soldering-plate, and are made wedge-shapedat the ends next the working-edge of said plate. They are of sufficientsize to give the required weight to the iron. These clamping parts areplaced crosswise upon the shank or handle c, one part', I), beingpermanently fixed to the endpthereot', and the other, c, is adapted foradjustment upon the shank. The seat-plate receiving faces d of theseclamping parts are formed with side clampug-guides,ff, beveled orgrooved on their inner sides, and the side edges of the solderin g-plateare cut with corresponding bevels, so that when the plate is seated andthe adjustable holder part is clamped upon said plate it will be heldupon its seat by these bevels, as in a groove. The plate, when so seatedand secured, projects beyond the wedgeshaped ends ot' the holder andpresent-s the working-edge of the tool. The met-a1 shank or handle has ascrew-thread, and a nut, g, thereon serves as the means for setting theadjustable clamping part up so as to clamp the holder parts upon thesoldering-plate. A pin, h, on one of the holder parts enters a hole inthe other, and serves to preserve the relation of these parts with theplate and prevents the changing or turning of the adjustable part uponthe shank. It isimportant that the gripe or clamping action ot theholder upon the plate should be limited, and thereby prevent the platebeing sprung or buckled between the securing-guides, and for thispurpose a screw, t',

is screwed into the fixed holder part, so as t0 V form an adjustablestop to limit the adjustment of the movable holder part toward the saidfixed holder part. This construction of clamping holder parts allowsthem to be adjusted for different-sized plates, and also gives theadvantage of' an intermediate space between these parts for thecirculation and radiation of heat in heating and using the tool.

An important matterin the invention is that the plates are produced eachwith a beveled end, in order that as the plate is fed out from theholder, and thereby becomes worn away or reduced in length, a new plateis inserted between the guides, so that the beveled ends of both willjoin or abut, the new plate overlaping, and thereby the new one is ineil'ect thus made a continuation of the reduced one, and the latter isre-ent'orced and held upon its seat, so that it is prevented frombuckling or springing when reduced. The plates may, however, abutsquarely.

The soldering-plates may be lnade slightlytapering on their side edgesin the direction of the working end, and the clamping-guides ofcorresponding conformation, which I nd to give greater security to theretention ot' the plates in the holder, and especially when much reducedin length by use. The plate is unclamped when the working-edge is wornaway, and it is fed out the required distance to give or renew theworking-edge.

In a soldering-iron in which the workingedge is formed bya plateadjustably secured upon a elampingguide, it is important that suchclampingguide be made adjustable to suit plates of different widths,that it be held by a clamping action of such guide exerted in the planeof the plate, and that such clamping force be tempered or set to preventthe buckling of the plate, which for straight seaming must have aperfectly true and straight working-edge.

Referring to the copper plate as being adapted to have its working-edgerenewed as it is worn away, I have sta ted that such plate is fed fromits holder, and I mean that it is adjusted out from the holder as itwears from use.

I claim- 1. In a soldering tool or iron, a holder for thesoldering-plate proper, consisting of a fixed jaw or part, b, and anadjustable jaw or part, c, carried upon a screw-handle stem, e, each jawhaving a guide-holding part,f, the adjustable jaw or part being adaptedto effect the clamping action upon the working-plate in the planethereof by being set in relation to the fixed clamping partsubstantially as described, for the purpose specified.

2. In a soldering-iron or tool having a clamping-holder having a fixedand a movable part for a plate ot' a thickness to form thesoldering-edge, the combination, with the movable part and its adjustingand clamping nut, of a set-stop carried by the fixed part, whereby tolimit the clamping action of the holder upon the plate.

3. A-soldering iron or tool consisting of a clan'iping-holder having aiXed and an adjustable part, a screw shank orhandle upon which they aresecured at right angles, a clampingnut for the movable part, a plateforming the soldering-edge, a set-stop to limit the clamping action uponthe plate, and a pin for maintaining the relation of the movable holderpart to the plate and to the Xed holder part, substantially asdescribed.

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

ROBERT J. BAKER.

\Vitnesses:

C. H. SLICER, J osHUA M. MYERS.

